By World Israel News Staff

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said over the weekend that Israel is fighting for its “very existence” against Iran and vowed that the air campaign against the Islamic Republic will continue “with full force.”

In a Hebrew-language video statement Saturday night, Netanyahu warned that since the 12-Day War with Iran last June, the regime has sought to rebuild and bury its nuclear and missile capabilities deep underground, beyond the reach of attack. He also said that Iran posed a risk of preemptive strikes against both Israel and US targets.

Khamenei “ordered the restoration of Iran’s nuclear and ballistic capabilities and even buried them deep, deep underground, beneath high mountains, so that they would be completely immune to any strike,” Netanyahu said.

This, the prime minister continued, would have positioned Iran to destroy Israel and to threaten the US and Europe.

“There is no doubt that after achieving this underground immunity, the ayatollahs’ regime would have used these terrible tools to destroy us, Israel, and threaten the US, Europe, the countries of the region, and the entire world with nuclear weapons.”

However, Netanyahu continued, the Hamas invasion of Oct. 7, 2023, forced Israel to adopt a more “proactive” stance, leading to direct confrontations with Iran that are now poised not only to terminate Iran’s military nuclear program but could also lead to the overthrow of the regime.

Netanyahu predicted that the current war will result in regime change and the formation of a pro-Western government that will establish ties with Israel.

“Our success will bring not only the removal of a nuclear threat from the entire world and not only peace between Israel and Iran. It will also bring a dramatic expansion of the circle of peace around us.”

The prime minister called on Iranian dissidents to prepare to rise up against the regime, declaring that the “moment of truth is approaching.”

“We seek to liberate Iran and live in peace with it. But at the end of the day, liberation from the yoke of tyranny, this liberation will depend on you, the brave and long-suffering Iranian people.”